Samsung Stratosphere official, brings QWERTY to Verizon 4G
updated 07:35 am EDT, Mon October 10, 2011
Samsung Stratosphere mixes Android QWERTY with LTE
Verizon helped kick off the CTIA show this week by confirming the frequently rumored Samsung Stratosphere. The Android 2.3 phone is Verizon's first smartphone to tout both a QWERTY keyboard and LTE-based 4G, and the carrier is treating it as a pro device. It gets fresh remote connection services from Cisco for VPNs as well as improved Exchange and Sybase's tools for remotely wiping a lost phone.
The hardware itself is a slight upgrade on the original Galaxy S and shares the same four-inch Super AMOLED screen, 1GHz, single-core ARM Cortex-A8 chip, and five-megapixel rear camera. A front 1.3-megapixel camera builds on the formula, and Samsung adds in the latest version of its TouchWiz interface.
In less than ideal timing, the Stratosphere should arrive a day before the iPhone 4S, on October 13. It will be one of the least expensive LTE phones on Verizon, however, at $150 on a contract after a $50 mail-in rebate or online discount.
